Curse of Arachne
by Multiverse-0f-Fantasy
Summary: Annabeth is cursed by her mothers greatest rival from history, Arachne, and the horrors she must face are only the start. Fanfic request from C107galaxytachyon.
1. Chapter 1

She fell against the cold hard ground, her hands scraping the stones as she tried to break her fall, cutting the skin. She grunted meekly, her bare knees grazed, her pyjamas torn. What did she trip over? A branch? A rock? She couldn't see, her hair was covering her eyes, the blonde strands obscuring her view.

The spider crawled over her skin, its delicate frame climbing her arm with natural ease as the young woman watched.

She heard a howl behind her, her head whipping back to scan the trees behind her. She saw nothing but the path she had taken through the forest, broken twigs and bramble littering her path. She couldn't stay here. The witch was coming. She had to get away. She pushed herself back to her bloody feet, her soles cut to ribbons by the sharp terrain. She ignored the pains as she desperately scrambled into the bushes, the leaves and branches whipping her limbs as she forced her way through.

Percy kissed her gently as they sat in the pavilion, the young couple enjoying the solace before the dinner bell rang. She combed his sandy brown hair as he looked into her stormy grey eyes, his own sea green orbs glinting with admiration. "I love you Annabeth" he whispered.

Annabeth screamed as he fell down the embankment, unable to save herself before tumbling down into the ravine, the freezing cold water hitting her like a train. She gasped as the air was knocked out of her, hitting her head on a nearby stone, blacking out almost immediately.

She cowered in the corner of her home, terrified and ashamed at what she had done. How foolish she had been in her hubris, and now she was to be punished. She had to get away, but there was only one way out. One way to escape.

Annabeth sat in her cabin, her favourite book in her hands, approaching her favourite part where the heroine must confront the beast. She turned the page, eager to see what happened next despite knowing the outcome.

"You cannot escape me so easily" the witch declare, her eyes glowing as her hand reached out for her.

Annabeth gasped as she awoke in the ravine, the cold water lapping across her body relentlessly. Her pyjamas were drenched, her t-shirt and bottoms soaking wet as she rolled out of the streams path, coughing up mud and dirt as she heaved in as much air as she could. _Where am I?_ Her brain asked, trying to focus. _Where was I going?_ She couldn't think, closing her eyes as she pressed her palms to her head, trying to remember. The ringing intensified, clouding her focus.

She remembered the pavilion, where she wanted to eat. She was so hungry, she needed to feed. But there was nothing edible on the table. She tried everything, but it all tasted vile. Disgusting. _How could she eat such things? Why would they serve this?_ And yet everyone around her could stomach it, gulfing it down like animals.

She stood up in the crowd, her dress long and regel as she declared herself the greatest weaver in all the lands. "I say to you!" she shouted to the heavens, her voice carrying over the crowd, "that I am more talented than even the gods. Than Athena herself…"

 _No! No, that's not right. That wasn't me! I never said that! Why..?_ The ringing came again, and Annabeth screamed. "Stop, please!" she cried, the pain too much to bare.

The spider crawled along her arm, and Annabeth watched it silently, frozen in terror.

She weaved her tapestry with the swift skill she had earned after years and years of practice, confidently revealing its finished piece to the crowds. They all stared in wonder as they gazed upon her majesty while she glared triumphantly at the goddess.

"You will live" the witch proclaimed.

Annabeth's eyes widened, her head spinning around searching for her. She couldn't see, but she was coming. She had to get away. Had to escape. She lunged forward, stumbling up the other side of the ravine on her hands and knees, crawling at the dirt as she scrambled back to her feet, limping back into the forest.

She tore into her food ravenously, her starving mouth swallowing as much as she could. Her teeth ground the crunchy texture to dust as she slurped up the squishy morsels in her hands. She was so hungry.

Annabeth saw the spider out the corner of her eye, freezing instantly as it approached her on its thin, fragile legs, stepping off the chair onto the exposed skin of her arm.

"You can never compare to any of the gods" the old lady warned. "Plead for forgiveness and Athena might spare your soul."

She laughed at the old lady, her voice howling. "I only speak the truth!" she retorted, so full of pride and arrogance. "And if Athena thinks otherwise, than let her come down and challenge me herself."

She shook her head wildly, trying to organise her thoughts. _None of this is right. I don't know what is real. Am I even real? Is this a nightmare?_ She stumbled again, letting out a cry of pain as she heard something snap.

She writhed uncontrollably in her sleep, her body sweating profusely as she tossed and turned. Her mind was racing as images flooded her skull, stirring up so many emotions. _She's coming_ she realised, bolting awake as the witch looked down at her.

 _There is only one escape_. She climbed up onto the stool, pulling her head into the noose hanging from the rafters. She had to hurry, before she could reach her. _I've been such a fool. I'm so ashamed at who I've become._ She stepped off the stool, the rope tightening around her neck.

Annabeth choked on the brittle soil as she tried to crawl forward, the pain in her leg white hot and intense. She looked down as could see the bone sticking out of her skin, her foot turning a sickening shade of blue. She tried to push herself up, her strength failing her as her grey eyes fell upon the back of her hand.

She examined the red bite mark carefully, contemplating having one of the Apollo campers look at it. She heard him approaching as hid it away. "Hey there" Percy said with a smile, greeting her with a soft peck on the lips. Been looking for you."

"I've been looking for you too" she replied, taking his hand in hers. She gazed into his eyes, wanting nothing more than to gaze into them forever.

She needed to eat. She hadn't found anything edible all day. _There must be something?_ She searched the camp frantically, her stomach growling, begging to be fed. She tripped over a stray rock, falling onto her face, coughing up dirt. She blinked a few times before her eyes picked out the tree stump, her limbs pulling her towards it like a crab, her trembling fingers prying the bark away. Inside was a swarming host of different insects, beetles, worms and slugs, all huddled together? _Escaping the cold I bet._

Her stomach growled, and she dug her hands into the stump, pulling out handfuls of grub before lunging forward to starve her hunger.

The crowds marvelled at the two fantastic pieces of art, staring in wonder as they both appeared equally magnificent. But there was only clear winner, and the goddess knew it. "No!" she cried, grabbing the most beautiful display of talent and ripping it to shreds before her very eyes. She watched as her greatest work was destroyed, screaming in horror, her heart full of hate. But then she looked up at the witch, and her body was filled with terror.

"You will forever hang" she declared, the juice of Hecate's herb covering her body.

Annabeth gritted her teeth and pushed forward, dragging her broken leg behind her as she pushed through the bushes, finding a dark cave deep within the forest. _I can hide there_ , she told herself, dragging herself along the ground into the mouth of the cave. She hesitated briefly as she cast a glance over her shoulder, the forest looming over her like tall shadowy spires, surrounding her as they hid the night sky from her.

She ran away in fear for her life, the witch following behind her as she shoved her way past the shocked and bewildered bodies that blocked her path, screeching in terror as she barged through them. _Gods help me! Please forgive me!_

The spider crawled along her arm.

She collapsed onto the stone floor, deep in the blackness of the cave, heaving in the stifling air as her body ached. Her muscles strained just to hold her weight, her blonde hair stuck to her face as she looked down at her shredded pyjamas, her broken leg, the cuts and bruises on her skin. She has looked better.

Her head snapped up as she felt a presence in the cave. Her stormy grey eyes searched the darkness, her heart beating against her ribcage as she let out a shaking breath. "You won't win" she called out into the darkness, trying to sound more confident than she was. "I won't let you. I can fight this!"

She heard the laughter moments before the door shattered, the imposing figure of the witch stepping across the threshold to find her hanging from the rafters. "You do not get to escape me so easily" the goddess told her, raising her hand towards her dying body. "You will live, and you will hang forever more, as your punishment will be."

Annabeth stared up at the face of a monster as she lay in her bed, her waking nightmare manifesting before her eyes. Her logical brain told her she was still dreaming, but her body believed her to be awake, reacting in terror to the giant arachnid hovering over her. "Daughter of the witch" the old rival of her mother hissed, her drool falling across Annabeth's cheeks. "Athena's whore child. I will have my revenge."

"NO!" Annabeth scream, her body contorting in pain as her muscles constricted. She felt the watchful gaze of her worst fears over her, the source of her greatest horrors seeping inside her. "I WONT GIVE IN! I WILL FIGHT YOU UNTIL...AHH!"

Her scream pierced the silence as the spider bite down on her hand, instinctively swatting it to the floor where she stomped upon it, the delicate frame crushed under her boot. She hyperventilated as she slumped against a wall, cradling her hand as she examined the bite on her skin.

"You cannot stop what is happening" the giant spider hissed, its many eyes reflecting Annabeth's terrified expression. "My envoy's poison already seeps through your veins. My vengeance against your witch mother has already begun, and you will punish the rest of your kin in my name."

Annabeth's nails clawed at the floor as her body contorted, feeling body crack and snap as she flailed around in agony. "Please" she whimpered, unable to hold it together to even pretend to be strong. "Please, let me go." Her pleas went unanswered as her back arched, her body lifting off the floor as she gasped for air, the presence filling her lungs and burning her insides like a fire.

She felt the liquid herbs running down her body, her lifeless form jerking to life as she was wretched back from her blissful peace. She screamed as her body withered in agony, limbs flailing violently as the goddess watched her without emotion.

Annabeth sprung out of her bed as she looked around her cabin, her eyes narrowing at the sight of many slumbering demigods, seeing the veins pumping beneath their smooth, tender skin. "No" she whispered, backing away in horror as she turned and fled the cabin, running through the camp in nothing but her pyjamas into the forest.

She dug her fingers into her hair, her nails digging into the flesh of her skull as she screamed in pain. The memories spun around in her head, not sure which were her own and which were _hers_ , the monster who did this to her. "ARACHNE!" She cried, pleading with the once mortal master weaver for mercy.

"PLEASE. HAVE MERCY!" Arachne cried as she felt her bone contort and body warp, staring in desperation at the goddess. But Athena had no response, and simple turned away to leave her to her punishment.

Annabeth watched her mother leave her, the two set of memories blurring into one as she felt her flesh rip and tear, her back heaving upwards as something forced its way out of her spine, her shirt and skin torn apart as blood showered over her. Arachne had tears in her eyes as she screamed, her hips expanding as her waist shrunk, her arms shaking as Annabeth clawed at the floor, the sound off a thick stalk slamming down next to her making her cry. She felt her legs give way as her shrivelled away, Arachne's body shrinking until she was the size of a pea, growing many more eyes while Annabeth's body exploded in torturous violent spasms, her screams bouncing off the cave walls as she pleaded for the gods to save her.

Through her tears she prayed to her mother, begging for forgiveness.

Athena turned away, and left her to her punishment.

The daughter screamed as Arachne's poisonous curse took hold, her voice echoing into the forest to be lost in the night sky.

"I love you too" she replied, taking Percy's face in her hand as she kissed him back, never wanting to leave this moment.

 **To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

The forest towered over them both as they weaved their way through the trees, the night air cutting through their skin with a ghostly chill. The woodland was silent save for the sound of their footsteps crunching over leaves and twig. There was a distant howl that startled the pair, both their torches whirling around to scan the path they took.

"This place give me the creeps" Percy muttered, his sea green eyes searching wildly for danger. He was dressed in his camp half-blood t-shirt and faded grey jean and sneakers, with a thick brown coat to hold off the chill. In one hand he held the torch. The other hovered over his right pocket where he kept his trusty ballpoint pen. His jet black hair glinting in the moonlight trying to peer through the canopy above them.

The young girl beside him could sense his fear, her natural demigod abilities making her highly sensitive to the emotions swirling around her. "We have to keep going" she told him, her kaleidoscope eyes turned back to stare directly ahead, marching forward with a determined will. She had a dark red attire designed for such cold weather, the lightweight jacket zipped up her front with brown boots clasped up to her knees, her dagger holstered on her hip and her cornucopia horn strapped across her back beneath the chocolate brown hair braided over her shoulder.

She didn't want to say anything to Percy that would agitate him further, but shed been feeling something ever since they'd entered the forest. A strong, overpowering sense of hate, anger, so strong she nearly backed out of journeying into the trees by his side. And now she as here, it felt like it was trying to smother her. Not for the first time on a quest, she was terrified. But this…this filled her with such dread she was afraid of what they were going to find.

It'd been several days since the first camper disappeared. They didn't realise who the first disappearance was until Chiron did a head count, where Piper was horrified to hear had been Annabeth. But once hearing that it made her retrace her memories. The last time she saw her had been behind the dining pavilion, where she was acting really… _strange_.

Piper had been taking a walk around the camp, trying to get some time to herself away from everyone. Being a child of Aphrodite, she had the ability to sense and read other people emotions. So being around a lot of people was overwhelming at times so she needed to be alone occasionally to readjust.

On this walk, she came across her best friend hiding behind a tree, hunched over the ground as she dug into the soil. She sensed her before she saw her, and what she felt was…off. Just not Annabeth. She felt a ravenous hunger inside her, so strong it made Pipers own stomach growl. "Annie?" she called, rounding the corner to find her.

But when Annabeth turned back to see her, Piper was shocked to see her face was covered in dirt, and several wriggling insects dripping from her mouth. _What the hell?_ Before she could say anything, Annabeth sprung up to her feet and sprinted away.

Piper was too much in shock to chase after her, but never actually managed to find her again after that. When campers started disappearing, she realised she must've vanished not long after seeing her, regretting not going after her.

Percy had a different outlook, but he was thinking about his last talk with her too. She been acting distant lately, but his last conversation had been all about him. He didn't even think to ask about how she'd been lately. Looking back, he realised she'd been trying to tell him something, but he was too preoccupied to hear her. "Sorry babe. I have to go" was the last thing he said to her, giving her a kiss before running off and leaving her at the cabins. He didn't even look back.

"I'm such an idiot" Percy muttered, scanning the trees as they both pressed further through the forest.

"You weren't to know" Piper told him assuredly. "We both should've seen it."

He glanced back at her, noting the pale skin and narrowed features. She was worried. "You sure you didn't want to bring Jason with us?"

She shook her head. "This was our mistake. It's why we didn't tell Chiron what we were planning. We can't lose any more people."

"What happens if we vanish just like the rest?"

She didn't answer. Did didn't want to think about it.

After about a dozen or so campers had dropped off the face of the map Chiron started a search party, scouring the grounds looking for signs of what could've happened. They split off into teams and searched everywhere, coming up empty. They retraced the steps of all the missing demigods, most belonging to the Athena cabin, a handful from Hermes, one from Hephaestus, another from Apollo. They checked the beach, the training grounds, the pavilions, the ravine, even the outskirts of the border.

But when Piper's crew approached the forest, they all hesitated. Their team leader told them one of the other teams was already searching it, but somehow Piper got the sense no one wanted to cross the treeline. She took a step towards the foliage, and immediately cringed. She felt something…evil, waiting in the bushes, making her stumble back in terror.

When she got back, she wasn't surprised to hear that nobody, no one at all, had dared venture into the forest. She met up with Percy later that evening, where he shared his own theories. "They have to be in there" he told her.

"I know" she replied. She didn't want to admit it, but if something that strong was hindering their search, it usually meant that where they needed to go.

But Percy was sure for his own reason. His party approached the treeline also, and like the others they avoided it. But Percy saw something within the trees when he peered in, something looking back. He stepped closer for a better look, but whatever it was scurried away into the forest, vanishing from sight.

So they made a plan. It was a bad plan, but they agreed it needed to be done. They parted ways and returned to their cabins, then after curfew they silently gathered their stuff and regrouped in the centre of the grounds, venturing out to the treeline. It took all of Piper's willpower to force her body to venture inside, but they pushed on into the darkness determined to find their friends.

They walked in tentative silence until they came to a clearing, searching the ground for a clue of which direction to go. "Which way" Percy mused, but Piper had locked her gaze onto a path to their right. She couldn't see anything in the blackness, but her own body was trembling as she forced her gaze in that direction. "Piper" he touched her arm, making her flinch. "Are you okay? You're shaking."

"We need to go this way" she told him, pointing into the trees.

"How are you sure?"

"Because it terrifies me."

She glanced towards the demigod, who nodded in understanding, pushing ahead of her to scout the path. She remained rooted to the spot, her legs resisting her commands. Percy looked back, giving her an uneasy smile before plunging into the bushes. _Come on, he can't go alone. Move!_ She drew in a shaky breath, her feet finally moving sluggishly forward as she followed him in, her every muscle screaming at her to turn and run. She bit them down, reminding herself why she was out here.

They found the cave soon after, a void of darkness inside the forest that was swallowing all light. Every negative emotion and fearful signal that had been pushing the demigods away was slipping from this cave. As Piper and Percy approached the cave, something watched them from the shadows, _behind them_.

It was Percy who clocked the presence. Piper was too overwhelmed by the haunting hatred to register him turning back to shine the torch into the trees. His light picked out a dark shillouete between the branches, which immediately ran away into the darkness. "Hello?" he called out, startling his young partner enough to snap her out of her petrified state.

"What is it?" she squeaked, whirling around the scan the forest. They suddenly jumped when something scuttled behind them, the lights spinning to face the cave entrance. "What was that?"

"The same thing I saw back in camp" he told her, his expression a cold glare. "We need to find it."

"We _need_ to find Annabeth and the others" she corrected him, staring uneasily at the cave. Her skin was noticeably pale, even her multi-coloured eyes turning white. I don't know if I can do this" she whispered, her voice shaking.

Percy closed to her side, taking her hand in his comfortingly. She grasped it tightly. "We're in this together" he assured her. She smiled nervously, holding her breath as the two heroes stepped into the black void.

The cave was pitch black within the cold damp walls, the only light coming from the torches in their hands. The walked slowly side by side, eye darting from one dark corner to the next, searching for any signs of danger. Percy was on alert, holding on through grit determination, but Piper was struggling to stay together. The emotions she was sensing in here were like nothing she'd ever felt before. To call them pure evil would be an understatement, but not entirely accurate. There was something under the hatred, a pain that cut into her soul deeper than any blade ever could.

"Piper?" Percy's voice broke the silence, his cone of light shining on her face to reveal the glinting sparkle of her cheeks. She released his hand to touch her face, her fingers coming away wet. "You're crying" he whispered, looking upon her with worry.

She stared at her tears in bewilderment. "They're not mine" she said uneasily. It was a well-known fact the children of Aphrodite form an empathic link with their closest family and friends, the results of which mean they share their pain and joy. So with Piper's tears weren't her own… _who's were they?_

Percy drew an uneasy breath, quickly pulling out his ballpoint pen and uncapping riptide, his bronze sword springing to life to glow faintly in the darkness. Piper reached for her dagger, keeping it holstered but leaving her fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt. They pressed on until the currying sound caught their attention, distracting them both long enough to walk into a thin blanket of thread.

Percy cursed as he flailed at the stuff, the blanket tangling in his hair as he brushed it off. Piper manged to avoid it, shining her light to see the thick webbing Percy had been caught in. "goddamnit!" he shouted, his words echoing through the cavern. "I hate spider's webs."

They both followed the webs deeper into the cave, their spines growing cold as they discovered the walls and floor were covered them, lining the space from floor to ceiling, like a giant nest. "Oh my god" Piper breathed, her body tensing up in fear.

"I don't even want to know what made all this" Percy grumbled, pushing ahead. They stepped carefully over the webs, avoiding any disturbance just in case. The cave went deeper and the webbing became thicker, covering every inch of the walls till the demigods had no choice but to tread along the surface, each footstep making a soft crunching noise that bounced across the cave.

They kept going until one of the beams of light picked out a shape in the blackness, a large object suspended over the ground wrapped tightly in webbing. The two heroes looked at one another uneasily before creeping closer, examining the mick mound hanging from the ceiling. Percy drew in a quick breath. The shape resembled that of a person, wrapped up tightly like a mummy. Piper couldn't sense any emotions from the shape, but she couldn't be sure as the cave itself was drowning even hers out. Shifting the torch to her left hand, she pulled out her dagger and slowly brought it up to cut away at the tight wrappings, trying not to picture what she might find within.

What she found was worse.

As she pulled the webbing apart, she screamed in terror as she was greeted by a shrivelled rotting face of a young teenager, its expression eternally frozen in contorted pain as it slumped forward, making the young girl fall back in fright. Her foot collided with something on the fall and she stumbled backwards, landing on her backside where she discovered she tripped over another body. This one had been torn open, its stomach ripped into a blood and guts spilling out onto the floor, covered in a sheet of cobwebs.

Piper pushed herself away back into the wall, staring at the bodies in horror, her breath catching struggling to breathe. Percy saw the bodies and vomited, the smell of his throw up filling the stale air while he heaved. When he brought his light back up, it found several more mounds littered across the cave, some hanging from the roof, others pinned to the walls, a couple ripped apart like a slasher movie.

"Oh gods" Piper's voice cracked, her heart heavy with despair as she scanned the room, tears forming in her eyes. Percy couldn't say anything. He knew what she knew.

 _The missing demigods were already dead._

"You shouldn't have come here."

The voice sent a chill down both the heroes' backs, their heads spinning around to the source somewhere in the black surroundings. As Percy flung his torch about, the light picked out a dark shape as it shot across the roof overhead, losing track as the scuttling sound echoed around the cave.

Piper was pulled to her feet to join him, pressing against his back as they drew their weapons protectively, scanning the cave urgently. "Whatever you are" Percy called out, displaying an air of confidence that calmed Piper's heightened senses, "you are going to pay for what you've done. We're not afraid of you!"

"Percy" the voice whispered, coming from a nearby crop of rocks deeper in the cave. They each approached the shadows to witness the shape of a young woman peering over at them. "I need to leave" she told them fearfully.

Percy shone his light in her direction, seeing her flinch from the brightness and try to duck behind the rocks away from it. But not before has caught a glimpse of her blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. "Annabeth?" he cried, stepping closer with a look of relief across his face.

"Stay back!" she cried, making him stop when she cowered away into the shadows. "Why did you come here?"

"Why? We came to find you. I came to bring you home."

"Annie?" Piper spoke, edging closer slowly. She was as relieved to see her friend as Percy was, but she could something was wrong. "What happened? We were so worried. When all the others disappeared…we thought we'd lost you."

"I tried to stop it" Annabeth told them, peering over the rocks. Her hair was tangled and falling over her smudged face, her eyes red from an endless supply of tears. "I tried to save them, but I couldn't. She wanted all of Athena's kids to be slaughtered, so I tried…diverting it…the others…I couldn't save them."

"Stop what? What did this?"

When she fell silent, Percy pressed forward. "Annabeth, whatever monster is out here, we'll fight it together. You're not alone anymore. We can help you."

"You don't understand" she said hollowly, slowly rising out from behind the rocks into their light. The two demigods watched as she stood up, their faces suddenly falling in horror as they saw. Annabeth's body was cut and bruised across her skin, the remains of her pyjamas covering her torso, ripped and torn. Her bare arms pushed herself up as it was revealed that below her waist, her legs were gone. Replaced by the body of a massive spider, its eight long legs tapping gracefully along the webs. As the heroes stared at her, Annabeth gazed back with her two big grey eyes, four smaller pupils blinking at them from beside them. "You can't save me Percy. I am the monster."

Her boyfriend and best friend looked at her, unable to speak as they took in the revelation. "How..?" Piper squeaked, finding her voice only to feel it cracking. "What happened to you?"

"Arachne" Annabeth explained, looked down at her own form in disgust. "She cursed me to get revenge on my mom for what she did to her. She's a part of me…or I'm a part of her. I can feel her…Pipes, it's too much. The hunger…I can't help it…"

"We'll help you" Percy blurted out, swallowing back the repulsion to storm towards her. "We can get you back to camp, Chiron might know a way to reverse…"

"No!" she cried, backing away when he closed in. "you can't help me. You need to leave."

"I'm not leaving without you" he told her sternly.

"You have to! I can't control…" she groaned suddenly, clutching her stomach as they all heard a much led grumble from within. "The hunger…I need to feed…you can't be here."

"We came here for you, goddanmit!" Percy stepped closer again, but Piper reached out to grab his arm. "Percy, wait! Don't." he whirled back on her and she tried to tell him through her pitiful gaze. She could feel Annabeth's pain, so strong her own body was on the verge of buckling. But she also felt what was overcoming her, the evil presence of the curse, the monster. This close it was so terrifying her legs wanted to sprint away, far away.

"please Percy" Annabeth whispered, her body colliding with a nearby web to claw at it, baring her teeth as she resisted her animalistic instincts, showing the sharp fangs growing along her jaw. "I don't…want…to hurt…you…" her voice changed, rising in pitch and deepening in tone. Her words became a hiss, almost like a snake, but sharper. "Ruunnn!"

"Not without you" Percy replied, fighting piper as she tried to pull him away. "I love you Annabeth! I won't leave you."

The daughter of Athena looked back at him with sadness in her six eyes. "I love you too" she whispered. A tear fell down Piper's cheek, empathic transfer from her close friend who could never cry again. Annabeth's face contorted until she collapsed onto her hands, her nails digging into the stone as she looked back up at them, all semblance of the girl now gone, replaced with something pure evil.

The pair of demigods froze in the creature's sights, all hope leaving them as they stood before the half-spider monster using her face. Without a single word or hiss, it lunched itself forward, scurrying towards them at a lightning pace, mouth wide preparing to feast on its fresh prey.

Piper finally broke down, all the emotions from both her, Percy and Annabeth too much to bare as she fell back away from the monster, her legs giving out and landing her into the sticky webs around her. Percy remained standing, his gaze never wavering as the thing that was once his girlfriend lunged at him, his grip tightening around riptide.

 _Forgive me wise girl. I should've been better._

With tears in his eyes, he raised the sword before him, bracing for the attack with a distraught howl filling the cave.

 ** _The end._**


End file.
